Spoiler:

The young Kimura stood at the gate of the grand Konohagakure with another shinobi by his side.  This man was a bit older and known as a veteran of the shinobi life.  He may have been a chunin at best but he seemed to be a great person.  Koonta was not very impressed with him but he still respected him as a person.  He went by the name Yukine. On the backs of the two shinobi were communication supplies to help networking new bases, however Koonta also heard about a 'side-job' he could partake in.  The administration left out a flyer to discover the new lands of Hi No Kuni, the genin felt like it would be a great time to knock out two birds with one stone.  The young genin snickered to him.

The two took their first steps out of the village together and went off into the dense forest that hides Konoha from the rest of the world.  It is such a forest that it can kill the unaware.  " The Kimura clan is a powerful clan. " Yukine muttered in his attempt to make small talk.  The Kimura looked up to the shinobi with a smile.  Complements to names meant a lot to him.  The pride within his body is motivating, especially at such a young age.  It was obvious that his drive to become a shinobi was for his village.  “ Thanks. “ The genin did not want to seem pompous or vain, so his reply was short.  He would have spoken about Yukine’s family name but he had no information on them.  To keep Yukine from being a liar, Koonta would have to show that he truly is powerful.

The small talk ceased when it became difficult to see in the forest.  There was little sunlight.  From the ground, it looked like the sun was being clouded.  A shrug came from the boy as he trekked through the forest with a large sack on his back.  However, he did not forget to draw what he was seeing.  Koonta was not a cartographer so his map may seem elementary.  His pen started to fill out where he was at and it was rather easy for him.  The duo was moving at such a slothful pace that Koonta could draw what he was seeing around him.  However, it was difficult to see so he may not have gotten everything perfect.

The map had to be put away as the duo had to climb through an array of tree branches covering the path.  A tree might have fallen or there could have been a battle here.  He could not identify any significant marks that could resemble a fight, but it certainly was a possibility.  Yukine watched over Koonta and helped him get through tough patches in the array. It was odd because there were patches of thorns with yellow tips.  “ Don’t let those yellow tips tag ya, they are poisonous. “ Yukine spoke out clearly to put some freight in the boy.  He gulped in a display to show the severity of the situation took a mental note to record this on the map.  He wondered what else he would face in the forest.

Actually…why did we not learn about this in The Academy? Regional Geography is important!

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The duo stopped at the Naka River and to set up the networking supplies. However, the two took a small break before connecting the network. Yukine went to get a drink from the river while Koonta caught up on his map. The map was looking good so far, by no means was it great but it was sufficient enough. After completing his task, the boy started to pull out items from the sack that he had been carrying on his back for so long. Koonta was pulling out all sorts of weird equipment that he had never seen before. The boy did not even attempt to build the network. “ You know, I have met some brave Kimura. “ Yukine chuckled as he sat down to help build the networking. The genin looked up to him with another smile. He knew we all were brave but it was always good to hear it from someone else; his pride was one of his significant characteristics.

The two went by to describe the situation in which a Kimura displayed a tremendous amount of heroism, quite an inspiring tale. Koonta had not expected anything else from a fellow Kimura but the epics are always so good to hear, similar to music. It only took a few minutes to set up the network and to test it. The communication between the two lines were clear so this camp had been a success, however Koonta had questioned why the village would have to be in communication with this isolated part of the forest. I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.

The two had one more place to go downstream and the walk should not be very long. The boy kicked a few rocks as he marched down the trail, making sure to remember where everything was and how they got there. After a few minutes of walking down the path, the duo cut into the thick of the woods where Koonta would be recording everything he was seeing. It did not take long for the two to get lost in the forest; it turned out Yukine took an early turn. Apparently, turning when the leaves turn brown are bad directions. The boy continued to draw where he was going. “ Yukine, I have this map here so we can find where we are. “ A bright smile appeared on Yukine as if he was expecting such a thing. “Perfect.”

The two then were able to find their way back onto the trail. After diverging onto the correct forest lane to get towards the campsite, he noticed those yellow tips again and made sure to populate the map with their location. He knew that this could surely help a wanderer or someone who is relatively new to the area, like Koonta himself. The two made it to the campsite and set up the connection relatively easily. Koonta even helped this time because he knew where the equipment went and how the mechanics of the equipment worked. However, Koonta did have to fiddle with the antenna to get a connection. The dense forest interfered with the connection but that was reasonable. Once Koonta found a proper adjustment for the antenna, he logged it onto the equipment itself. After making contact with the home base, the duo made their way back to the village. Koonta also double-checked everything on his map for the safety of others.

The genin sure did learn a lot about the Kimura and their war stories. He also learned that there is plenty of respect for Chunin and that he may have been disrespectful when he thought of Yukine as a lowly Chunin. In fact, Koonta was not even a chunin and just made it to genin recently. Perhaps, his chance was near. He longed to become a chunin so that he could become a special jonin and eventually one of the top shinobi of the world. However, he would need to make more connections like he did with Yukine.

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